On the
Rise: Activism and Government Crackdowns

By
Stephen Jamison

At
the same time that right to die organizations worldwide are working to secure
laws for assisted dying, numerous individuals still use "extralegal"
means to end their lives. They secure secret assistance from their own
physicians, family members, or friends. In addition, there are those who
assist in other ways by providing information or counseling on non-medical methods
of suicide, or even items or devices that can be used to help end the lives
of the dying.

Not
surprisingly, some individuals have taken high profile approaches to change
the law and others have taken risks to provide what they see as vital information
or help to the dying. The media, hungry for controversy, readily seek
out such individuals, including the dying who are in need of help as well as
those who provide assistance in some way.

This
can certainly increase publicity for one’s cause. We see this, for
example, in court challenges by and for such people as Diane Pretty in Britain
and Ramon Sampedro in Spain. Even after their deaths, their names are
invoked to garner support for legal change. Some deaths have even been
designed to challenge laws, including Sampedro’s death as well as that
of Sue Rodriguez in Canada and Nancy Crick in Australia. And there have
been other extralegal efforts, some more public than others.

One
of the dilemmas involved in fighting for legal change and using extralegal means
to achieve it is that it can alert both the media and authorities, and
the risk is that those who push the boundaries of the law may find that “the
law” sometimes pushes back. We see this currently in a variety of
disturbing events worldwide.

In
Canada, Evelyn Martens, 72, an active member of Canada's Right to Die Network,
was arrested and charged with counseling and aiding the suicides last year of
two women who were believed to be terminally ill. Some accusations involve
the provision of plastic bags, tubing, and helium to aid in their deaths.

After
spending several days in jail, Martens was granted bail, but with strict conditions.
These include a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, possible weekly searches of her home,
prohibition against her possessing helium, plastic bags, or tubing, accessing
a computer, using the Internet, and even possessing right-to-die literature
and materials.

To
make matters worse, Martens also is being investigated by Irish police for involvement
in the death of a Dublin woman with whom police allege Martens communicated
over the Internet, and to whom she sold the plastic “exit bag” bag
used in her suicide.

Martens'
name also is mentioned in a brief published on the Internet by the Right to
Die Network of Canada. Dublin police have been inquiring about others
involved with the group, and are looking at other possible offences involving
Martens or others affiliated with her and the Network.

If
charges are filed, extradition may be requested.

In
Australia, Queensland authorities are deciding whether to file charges against
any of the 21 witnesses to the suicide of Nancy Crick last year. Earlier,
to publicize her cause a website was established which carried journal entries
from Crick and described her intentions. The investigation into her death
included simultaneous raids on the homes and offices of various individuals
and groups associated with Crick and the right to die.

By
all appearances, this was not solely an attempt to secure information about
possible wrong doing, but also was an attempt to quill some of the more vocal
proponents of the right to die in the region.

Recently,
one of these witnesses said that he watched Crick end her life, was "proud
to be there", and was "tired of waiting to be charged".
The 21 never intended to remain hidden, as they were present to show support
for Crick and to bring the issue into the open, but followed legal advice to
stay quiet.

If
charged with and convicted of assisting a suicide, the crime carries a maximum
life sentence in Queensland.

Linked
to Crick's much-publicized suicide, authorities have continued their efforts
to stop the work of Dr Philip Nitschke. Since the repeal in 1998 of the
Northern Territory voluntary euthanasia law, Nitschke has both worked for legal
change and has held "clinics" at which information on suicide is discussed
and controversial suicide devices are demonstrated.

Since
Crick's death, Nitschke has been the target of what he sees as "government
harassment". Authorities have raided his offices looking for evidence,
confiscated material, and have taken other actions to prevent his promotion
of "self help" approaches to suicide.

This
year, as he was leaving Australia for a conference in the United States,
customs officials searched Nitschke and confiscated a prototype carbon monoxide-generating
machine and drawstring plastic "suicide" bags. And on a more
recent departure to conduct a series of workshops in New Zealand, customs staff
again searched his hand luggage, laptop, and computer discs, and interviewed
him all on videotape.

In
a related crackdown, Australia also is planning to prevent the email distribution
of any information on suicide methods. They have cited studies that supposedly
show the risk of Internet access to such information.

Meanwhile,
in New Zealand, Lesley Martin, has been charged with the attempted suicide of
her mother in 1998. Martin, a right-to-die activist and writer, was arrested
after describing the events surrounding her mother's death in her book.

For
a time, as a condition of her bail, Martin was not only barred from discussing
her case, but also from campaigning for the legalization of voluntary euthanasia.
All this occurred at the same time a Death with Dignity bill was being readied
for introduction. This bill would force a conscience vote on euthanasia
eight years after it was last debated by Parliament. Some see Martin's
arrest as an attempt to silence her.

*
* *

These
are not isolated cases. There have been others, and there will continue
to be other cases for as long as individuals and groups see the need to challenge
the law in extralegal ways. Though we should not see the responses by
authorities as necessarily organized, they do point to a change of direction
where they occur. Authorities have begun to pay closer attention to the
Internet, and to information discussed within the right to die movement, and
also to what is reported in the media. Authorities are no longer willing
to sit back, especially when confronted. Regardless of how each of us
may individually feel about these and other extralegal activities, "protest
deaths", or other challenges to authority, right to die organizations need
to pay close attention to what is happening outside of their own regions.